Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Akamai Technologies to “sell” from “hold,” contrasting with a broader analyst consensus of “hold” and an average price target of $149.29. Several firms recently raised their targets, including Piper Sandler to $158 and Bank of America to $185.
• Akamai’s latest quarterly results slightly exceeded expectations, with adjusted EPS of $1.59 versus $1.57 expected and revenue of $1.10 billion, up 5.4% year over year. The company issued third-quarter 2026 EPS guidance of $1.60–$1.80.
• The company’s outlook is receiving support from its growing AI-cloud infrastructure business, including a reported potential $11.6 billion, seven-year Anthropic agreement, while Akamai shares opened at $113.94 and were recently up 3.2%.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Akamai Technologies in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Akamai Technologies from $140.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Akamai Technologies from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Akamai Technologies in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $143.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Akamai Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $149.29.

Akamai Technologies Stock Up 3.2%

Akamai Technologies stock opened at $113.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.63. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $112.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.72. Akamai Technologies has a 1-year low of $70.82 and a 1-year high of $165.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.02. Akamai Technologies had a return on equity of 11.32% and a net margin of 9.51%.The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.73 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Akamai Technologies has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.600-1.800 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.400-7.050 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Akamai Technologies will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akamai Technologies

In other Akamai Technologies news, EVP Paul Joseph sold 3,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.63, for a total value of $327,453.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,007,497.36. The trade was a 9.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,172,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Akamai Technologies by 132.4% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 25,960 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $2,265,000 after acquiring an additional 14,792 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Akamai Technologies by 503.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,831 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $4,919,000 after acquiring an additional 35,735 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 59.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 40,593 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock worth $4,662,000 after acquiring an additional 15,091 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Akamai Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,250,000. 94.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Akamai Technologies

Here are the key news stories impacting Akamai Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Landmark Anthropic agreement: Anthropic committed to spend $11.6 billion over seven years on Akamai Cloud infrastructure to support growing CPU workloads. The relationship could expand by another $9 billion, creating a potential total commitment of approximately $20 billion. The contract provides significant long-term revenue visibility and strengthens Akamai’s position in the AI-cloud market. Anthropic to pay Akamai $11.6 billion over seven years in cloud deal
• Positive Sentiment: AI growth narrative: Investors are repricing Akamai from primarily a content-delivery and cybersecurity company toward a meaningful AI infrastructure provider. Reports also cited major enterprise agreements involving Lenovo and Jabil as additional support for the outlook. 3 Reasons Why AKAM Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism: Piper Sandler reaffirmed an Overweight rating and raised its price target to $158 from $125. DA Davidson maintained a Buy rating with a $185 target, while JPMorgan raised its target to $167, despite keeping a Neutral rating. Why Is Akamai Technologies Stock Surging Friday?

About Akamai Technologies

Akamai Technologies, Inc is a global technology company that provides cloud computing, content delivery and cybersecurity services. Its distributed platform helps businesses deliver websites, applications, software downloads, video and other digital content with improved speed, availability and scalability.

The company's offerings include content delivery and edge computing services, cloud infrastructure, web and application performance solutions, and security products designed to protect applications, application programming interfaces, networks and users from cyber threats.

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